Opt-In / Rewarded Video

Overview

Rewarded/Opt-in video is an ad format in which the end-user is rewarded in-game currency or an item for completing a video view.

Overall, the rewarded video integration is exactly the same as standard VAST video integration on MoPub. The format has been integrated into to the MoPub OpenRTB 2.3 specifications.

Important Notes

VAST video is the only supported video format

Min/max duration bounds are 0-30 second

Videos are non-skippable

There are no fundamental changes to the video player. Support for VAST elements and attributes, including protocols, video mime types, companion banners, and more is the same as interstitial video support.

All video aspect ratio sizes are supported, including 16:9, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:10. Per the IAB Digital Video Ad Format Guidelines, 16:9 is the recommended aspect ratio to send for fullscreen. For iPads, 4:3 aspect ratios are recommended.

If you are using CloudFront and targeting mainland China, it’s possible that your CDN hosted content may not display. This can be due to a variety of factors (such as latency or inability to download content). Amazon CloudFront’s content delivery article states the following:

“Amazon CloudFront uses a global network of edge locations, located near your end users in the United States, Europe, Asia, South America and Australia. Amazon CloudFront edge locations are currently not available inside of China.”

Example of User Experience

Rewarded video facilitates a value exchange between the user and the app developer. The workflow is as follows:

User chooses to watch a video in exchange for in-app currency

A non-skippable video plays

DSPs are charged at the start of the video when the webview player appears on screen

Video can be up to 30 seconds long

Videos also support (static) end-cards

App developer rewards user with an in-app reward after the video completes

MoPub also added ‘skip’ to the extension where skip:0 is non-skippable video

Note: skip will not be present on non-rewarded requests (for now)

As of June 2019, VAST videos will automatically render in the same orientation as a user’s mobile device (i.e. portrait or landscape). The MoPubForceOrientation VAST extension has been deprecated. DSPs can safely remove this extention from their VAST ad markup. Note - Android SDKs up to v5.7.1 will continue to respect MoPubForceOrientation Portrait and Landscape flags. Our video player will always pick the best video option from the VAST tag.

This is a video only request and the banner object will not be present

The api array is not present in the video object:

bid_request.imp.video.api[]

Bid Response Updates

There are no updates for rewarded video and buyers should return a VAST bid response. Defer to the OpenRTB 2.3 sample video bid response

Note: Duration must be equal to or less than the max duration, 30 seconds

Testing

Build to MoPub OpenRTB 2.3 and ingest the new ‘videotype’ and ‘skip’ within extension field

Test rewarded video in the Demand Platform Sandbox

Certification Process

There is no certification process for rewarded video, but testing in the MoPub Demand Platform is recommended.

DSP FAQ

2. How will I know when the inventory is rewarded?

DSPs will see a rewarded flag and a skip flag, in the bid request extension:

"ext":{"skip":0,"videotype":"rewarded"},

3. Can a DSP opt-out of rewarded video?

Yes, DSPs have the option to opt-out of rewarded video, but will automatically be opted-in at the GA launch. This can only be done by MoPub internal team member.

4. Who owns the transaction of the rewards for rewarded video?

The publisher owns the transaction of the rewards.

5. What types of rewards will publishers award? Will real money ever be offered?

Publishers will never offer real money in exchange for video views. The award will be native to the app’s economy. For example, gaming will award some currency that allows users to keep playing the game. Non-gaming apps could offer premium access to the app for a week in exchange for watching a video, for example.

6. Is there certification that DSPs will have to go through for rewarded video?

No certification is required as all DSPs are automatically opted-in.

7. How long should the videos be? Skip factor?

Less than or equal to 30s non-skippable video

8. What if I, the DSP, send through a video returned longer than 30s?

MoPub can not detect duration length prior to going live. If this case if detected by our internal monitoring process or by a publisher, a policy violation will be issued.

9. What are the completion rates? Is this exposed anywhere?

Completion rates, as for all video, are not publicly available. Anecdotally, we have heard from buyers that RV has a 97%-99% completion rate on MPX.

10. How much inventory will be available to DSPs?

116M worldwide auctions, and 10M uniques are available through our opt-in video. Most of our supply is concentrated in EMEA (3.7M uniques) + APAC (2.72), followed by LATAM (3M) + NAM (1.8M).

11. Will I see an increase or dip in general video requests?

Most RV inventory will be net new inventory (increase) but there will be some publishers that plan to move their regular video over to RV once it becomes available on MPX (small decrease).

12. How much QPS can I expect to see for rewarded video?

The max available today (10/19/2016) is 3500, and the min has been 1200 in the past 30 days.

13. Can I view rewarded video data in MoPub Analytics?

Yes

14. Will MoPub provide reporting for VAST events in MoPub Analytics?

Not at this time

15. Which tracking events are supported?

Rewarded video leverages the same players for VAST Video. Please see VAST spec for supported trackers.

17. Which mime types are supported?

The video player should support the same mime types supported for interstitial videos. Please defer to the bid_request.imp.video.mimes [] field

18. Will we support end cards?

Yes, it will be the same as VAST today. Note: support for MRAID end cards are not available today. Please speak with your account team if you are interested in these units

19. How does the billable event work with rewarded video? Does the publisher still set up a price floor as a CPM? How does the DSP come into play?

Everything still happens on the CPM and we’ll charge DSPs when we display the player, just like VAST. Only difference will be completion rates, which should be significantly higher.

20. Does rewarded video command a greater CPM than other kinds of video?

Yes, CPMs vary but range from $6-20

21. Is Rewarded video available outside of the open market (specifically, is it available for PMP)?

Yes

22. What is the default sound setting for Rewarded Video? Will users be able to toggle sound?

We will respect the device’s audio setting when the request is made, just like full screen video. Users won’t be able to toggle volume on the screen, but can toggle on the device.

23. What is the size of the videos? Always Full-screen interstitial? Do some pubs make this sit within a frame?

Always full screen

23. What is the VAST file size requirements for Rewarded Video?

Our VAST file size requirements are consistent across the exchange.

Creative Type

Optimal

Ok

Suboptimal

VAST Video

2-3mb

5mb

10mb+

24. Will it always force to landscape?

As of June 2019, VAST videos will automatically render in the same orientation as a user’s mobile device (i.e. portrait or landscape). The MoPubForceOrientation VAST extension has been deprecated. DSPs can safely remove this extention from their VAST ad markup. Note - Android SDKs up to v5.7.1 will continue to respect MoPubForceOrientation Portrait and Landscape flags.

25. Is there a 15-character CTA like in regular video? Where will it be displayed? Is it clickable before the video ends?

Yes – 15 character limit. It will only be displayed at the very end, if there is no end card. Same experience as a 15 second video.